Poway Historical Society

Poway Historical Society Preserving the Past for the Future

The 'Fifties Kids got to refresh memories while newer arrivals learned about Poway History at a memorabilia table.Member...
06/17/2019

The 'Fifties Kids got to refresh memories while newer arrivals learned about Poway History at a memorabilia table.

Members, guests and speaker mingled over lunch.

Thanks to Braden Tate for the fine pictures.

Our highly successful annual meeting at Templar's Hall in Old Poway Park had a 1950s theme that included food at the buf...
06/17/2019

Our highly successful annual meeting at Templar's Hall in Old Poway Park had a 1950s theme that included food at the buffet, which store-bought and items including favorites from the decade.

Dishes from the 1950s will be featured at out annual meeting, so we've turned to this vintage cookbook from Poway Garden...
06/01/2019

Dishes from the 1950s will be featured at out annual meeting, so we've turned to this vintage cookbook from Poway Garden Club for inspiration.

There's no date in the book, but it's from the early to mid-1960s. There hadn't been a great cooking revolution in the intervening years.

Join us at our annual meeting and learn what life was like in the very small town of Poway in the 1950s.
06/01/2019

Join us at our annual meeting and learn what life was like in the very small town of Poway in the 1950s.

"Then and Now" in this month's Chieftain was focused on the telephone directory, but the changes in our roads and postal...
05/16/2019

"Then and Now" in this month's Chieftain was focused on the telephone directory, but the changes in our roads and postal service at the time were just as big. We take a closer look here.

An aerial view looking east at south Poway in about 1970 and a map from the 1970 phone book.
04/28/2019

An aerial view looking east at south Poway in about 1970 and a map from the 1970 phone book.

Schools have been on spring break. Got us thinking back to what school was like in Poway nearly 100 years ago.
04/19/2019

Schools have been on spring break. Got us thinking back to what school was like in Poway nearly 100 years ago.

A collection of photos from around town and through the years.
04/14/2019

A collection of photos from around town and through the years.

There is a lot of talk about how the restaurant scene is changing in Poway. It's certainly true, and it's certainly noth...
03/30/2019

There is a lot of talk about how the restaurant scene is changing in Poway. It's certainly true, and it's certainly nothing new.

We've taken a look at restaurants that were listed in the Poway Chamber of Commerce Phone Books in 1974, 1980, 1986-87, 1995, and 2009-2010.

On the listings for 2009-2010, we made check marks on the ones that are still in business at the same location in March of 2019.

03/27/2019
Going through the archives, we came across these profiles of some people who weren't necessarily famous but were notable...
03/22/2019

Going through the archives, we came across these profiles of some people who weren't necessarily famous but were notable in Poway.

We take a look at some of the advertising in Poway newspapers in the years when Poway began its transition from village ...
03/15/2019

We take a look at some of the advertising in Poway newspapers in the years when Poway began its transition from village to suburb.

Poway Historical Society
03/05/2019

Poway Historical Society

Sixty years ago this week, Powegians headed to their mailboxes to pick up the latest issue of the Poway News.
03/02/2019

Sixty years ago this week, Powegians headed to their mailboxes to pick up the latest issue of the Poway News.

Two views looking west from the east end of Garden Road, 35 years apart.
02/26/2019

Two views looking west from the east end of Garden Road, 35 years apart.

02/26/2019
Looking east from the hill above the northeast corner of Poway and Pomerado.
02/03/2019

Looking east from the hill above the northeast corner of Poway and Pomerado.

Poway merchants were eager to support Poway High School with yearbook ads, often featuring photos of students. These are...
01/27/2019

Poway merchants were eager to support Poway High School with yearbook ads, often featuring photos of students. These are from 1962 through 1965.

A look back at the center of Poway in 1962.
01/12/2019

A look back at the center of Poway in 1962.

A sharp aerial view from 53 years ago.
12/29/2018

A sharp aerial view from 53 years ago.

As we approach the end of 2018, we go to the Way Back Machine of our Newspaper Archives 60 years to get the December 31,...
12/24/2018

As we approach the end of 2018, we go to the Way Back Machine of our Newspaper Archives 60 years to get the December 31, 1958 issue of Poway News. (Not sure where pages 4 & 5 went, guessing they were a grocery ad.)

The paper was produced, using cold lead typesetting, in a small office across Midland Road from Pomerado, now Midland, elementary school.

Poway has changed quite a bit since then.

Poway's Historic Big Stone Lodge has been added to SOHO San Diego's list of Most Endangered Historic Resources.This is f...
11/29/2018

Poway's Historic Big Stone Lodge has been added to SOHO San Diego's list of Most Endangered Historic Resources.

This is from their press release:

Big Stone Lodge, Poway
Long after a stage line from San Diego to Escondido stopped running near here, Dr. Homer Hansen and Daniel Stuck of the San Fernando Valley purchased land in the 1920s and envisioned building a resort complex called Camp Big Stone. The main lodge building, along Old Pomerado Road, was unusually constructed of gigantic roof beams and large granite boulders, as opposed to the cobbles commonly used in Poway, and the lodge was intended to be a place for community functions, such as dances and socials. Plans also called for camping facilities, a store, a service station, and more. However, the Great Depression stopped development and the resort was never fully completed.

Now known as the Big Stone Lodge, the landmark has seen numerous owners and proprietors over the years who operated it as a restaurant, bar, and dance hall. Its decline in popularity likely began with the straightening of Old Pomerado Road, which hid the Big Stone Lodge from the street for potential patrons.

Fast forward to 2003. The now defunct City of Poway Redevelopment Agency purchased this 1.7-acre property to protect and preserve the resort buildings; however, funding was never found and the property sat vacant. In 2006, Poway City officials determined the main lodge building could not be saved and demolition was approved to build more housing. Now twelve years later, the property is inexplicably abandoned and grossly deteriorating behind a chain link fence, with many questions lingering over the intended demolition. The City still has abundant opportunities to revive this historic site, including adaptive reuse, new housing, and a community center. A commitment to preserving the Big Stone Lodge-a vibrant and exceptional piece of Poway and San Diego history must be included in any new plan.

We were asked recently about the background of Templars Hall here in Old Poway Park. Here's a look at its colorful histo...
11/27/2018

We were asked recently about the background of Templars Hall here in Old Poway Park.

Here's a look at its colorful history.

Happy Thanksgiving!Up until the 1950s, Poway was noted for its turkeys.The Millard family raised the birds on what is no...
11/22/2018

Happy Thanksgiving!

Up until the 1950s, Poway was noted for its turkeys.

The Millard family raised the birds on what is now Millard's Ranch Road, south of Poway Road and east of Espola. The Vaughans' turkey farm was on the property where Wal-Mart now stands.

One imagines that local birds were on the menu when the Poway PTA hosted an annual Thanksgiving feast at Midland (then Pomerado) Elementary School.

For unknown reasons, the event wasn't held after 1958.

Poway Historical Society
11/11/2018

Poway Historical Society

Poway Historical Society's cover photo
11/11/2018

Poway Historical Society's cover photo

Looking back almost 50 years.
10/30/2018

Looking back almost 50 years.

Most people who remember, or envision, the Poway of 50 years ago probably think of it as a small, sleepy town.The San Di...
10/11/2018

Most people who remember, or envision, the Poway of 50 years ago probably think of it as a small, sleepy town.

The San Diego Union, in a 1968 article, saw it as a new boom town. They had a point. The population had about doubled since 1960 and homes were springing up all around town.

The Metate Road area has been in the news this year.We're revisiting a look at the road that would have crossed Poway Cr...
09/29/2018

The Metate Road area has been in the news this year.

We're revisiting a look at the road that would have crossed Poway Creek, connection Metate with Carriage Road and out to Poway Road.

The short stretch of the road south of the creek is still named Carriage Road (or South Carriage Road, depending on whose map you look at).

A collection of "Then and Now" street scenes from around town.
07/28/2018

A collection of "Then and Now" street scenes from around town.

Back in the 1950s, very few people outside of Poway knew -- or cared -- much about it.After the town started to grow, re...
07/20/2018

Back in the 1950s, very few people outside of Poway knew -- or cared -- much about it.

After the town started to grow, residents wanted to spread the word to friends and family and color post cards became popular. These are from the early to mid-1960s.

Address

14114 Midland Rd
Poway, CA
92064

Opening Hours

Saturday 10:00 - 14:00
Sunday 11:00 - 14:00

Telephone

(858) 679-8587

Website

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